Hurt Feelings, Hockey, and Thai Chicken Wings

And a good day to you!  Not so good for me though; my feelings got hurt recently by a couple of Finnish gentlemen in Melbourne.  According to them, I am a "Bad Canadian" because I'm not an ice hockey fan and I only watch games because I sort of enjoy the fights that break out.  Well, Bad Canadian no more.  Today's post will be all about hockey.  That's right! It's our national sport and it's about time that I learned something about it.  So here we go with the basics!



Ice hockey is a very physical game where the players wear  skates and use special sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal.  It's usually played in cold countries where outdoor ice rinks (a playing field covered with several inches of smooth ice) are the norm.  However, the popularity of the sport has spread to warmer countries where indoor ice rinks are possible.

The National Hockey League is the highest level for men worldwide.  This is the league I will focus on as it is the most popular.   The NHL has 30 teams; 24 are in the United States and 6 are in Canada.  The league is then divided geographically into 2 conferences:  NHL Eastern and NHL Western.  The conferences are then also geographically divided into 3 divisions each.  These divisions are: Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, and then Central, Northwest, and Pacific.

2 Canadian teams are doing well at the moment:  The Montreal Canadiens, the sentimental favourites, are #1 in their Northeast division, and the Vancouver Canucks are tops in their Northwest division.    Overall however, the NHL top standing team is the Washington Capitals from the US; The Habs (nickname for the Canadiens) come in at #4, and the Canucks come in at #7.    The Ottawa Senators come in at # 21 overall in the league, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at #23, the Calgary Flames at #27, and the Edmonton Oilers at #29. I have to say this last one surprised me a bit...aren't the Edmonton Oilers usually really good?  Well, it's still early in the season, we'll wait and see!

So the Canucks will be playing the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, November 20 in Vancouver at 7pm.  The Blackhawks are #2 in their Central division, so this really should be an interesting game.   Since I'm from Vancouver Island, I'll go with the Canucks on this one.  Go Canucks!  Canucks Zindabad!

Traditionally, Canadian men eat several different kinds of chicken wings and drink beer while watching a hockey game.  Therefore, I give you Hot Thai Chicken Wings.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 kilos of chicken wings, split

1 cup of chicken broth

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup fish sauce

lime juice

1/2 cup crushed garlic

crushed cilantro (coriander) STEMS

basil, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon crushed ginger

finely chopped green chilies to taste

2 tablespoons  cornstarch

Mix all of the ingredients together except the garlic, and pour over the wings to marinate them.  Let it sit for about an hour. 

Take the wings out of the marinade, and bake them on an oiled pan or grill for 45 minutes at 200C / 400F, turning once during baking.

Place the left-over marinade in a small pot, and add the crushed garlic.

Bring the sauce to a boil, and simmer several minutes.

Coat the the wings with the sauce, and enjoy!

The secret to really good thai wings is to crush the cilantro stems.  This releases the juice in the stem which is usually discarded, and it gives the wings a very deep, subtle flavour that you cannot get from cilantro leaves alone.

Have a great time watching the game, and I'll do my best to post regular hockey updates!

Happy Eating, and Happy Hockey!